The British gaming firm, Codemasters, has been the victim of what it describes as a ‘significant’ data theft, with the personal details of thousands of users stolen. Paul Vlissidis, technical director at NGS Secure, an NCC Group company, looks at the changing nature of online gaming…
The time where internet users could use online sites in such an ignorant and naïve way is long gone and this is a classic example of why people need to take responsibility for their own security.
It is common for users to apply the same passwords to frequently used websites, however, by doing this you are effectively increasing the risk that if any of the websites get hacked then all the others can be accessed. As well as the websites’ responsibility to keep their customers’ data safe, users must also accept that their behaviour directly affects their own security.
For a user to share a password for Codemasters with their personal banking provider is naïve to say the least and more people need to wise up these dangers quickly.
Using different passwords for different sites is a must, avoid saving card details to save time, use the card brand security schemes such as Securecode and Verified By Visa and make sure all website access uses the secure browser features (https instead of http). Last but not least, where possible, people should not use their email address as their user name.
By Paul Vlissidis
Technical director
NGS Secure
www.ngssecure.com/